Rail-stay.



J. M. VAIL.

RAIL STAY.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. II 1915.

1,182,865, Patented May 9,1916. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- [NI/ENTER J. M. VAIL.

RAIL STAY.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, ms.

Patented May 9,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'INI/ENTUR.

JOSEPH M. VAIL, OF BRYAN, OHIO.

RAIL-STAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1916..

Application filed November 1, 1915. Serial No. 59,010.

To all to ham it may concern Be it known that I, Josnrrr M. VAIL, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Bryan, in the county ofNilliams and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and usefulRail-Stay; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the charactersof reference marked thereon, which form .a part of this specification.

This invention relates to means for preventing the creeping of railsrelative to the supporting ties, and has for its object the provision ofa simple and improved stay for such purpose, which is capable of beingeasily and quickly applied to a rail, and which, when applied, permits alimited relative movement of the rail clamp and tie abutting part, suchas would be occasioned by a freezing and thawing of the'ballast, withoutreleasing the engagement of the parts with the rail.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, andwhile, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerousforms, a preferred and one modified embodiment thereof are illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a rail and supporting tie with aembodying my invention in operative engagement therewith. Figs. 2 and 3are perspective views of the diflerent members of the F ig. 4 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1 of a modified form of the invention. Fig. 5 is areduced cross-section thereof on the line :v-rc in Fig.4, and Figs. 6and 7 are perspective views of the different members of the stay with aportion of the latter broken away.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a railway tie, and 2 a railsupported thereby.

The rail stay embodying my invention comprises a bar 3, which isintended to eX- tend beneath a rail from one side to the other thereof,preferably in flat contact with its base, and is provided at one endwith a hook or rail flange engaging jaw 4: and at its other end .with ahook or rail flange engaging jaw 5, each of which is adapted to receivethe respective edge of the rail base and to have opposed gripping orclamping engagement therewith. The jaws a and 5 are suitably spaced topermit the bar 3 to be removed from engagement with the rail base whenit is disposed at substantially a right angle to the rail, the jawsbeing placed in gripping engagement with the rail by imparting atwisting movement to the bar 3 lengthwise of the rail so as to place thejaws in staggered gripping relation, as shown in Fig. 1, the rail flangereceiving recesses of the jaws being suitably formed for such purpose.

The jaw 5 of the bar, which, in the present instance, is the jawdisposed farthest from the tie 1 when the bar is applied to the rail,has a finger 6 projecting from the side thereof adjacent to the tie andin spaced outwardly inclined relation to the rail edge when the bar isdisposed in position for its jaws to have gripping engagement with therail. The finger 6 is of bendable material, such, for instance, asmalleable iron, to permit a bending thereof as hereinafter described,and is shown as having its free end provided with an inwardly projectinglug or spur 6.

The tie abutting member of the stay is designated 7 and has one sidethereof grooved or recessed, as at 8, to slidingly embrace a rail flangeand has its outer end provided with a flat tie abutting surface 9,which, in the present instance, is in the nature of a flange formed onthe outer end of the member. The body of the member 7 is of suitablesizeto adapt it, when applied to a rail flange, to fit between the finger 6and adjacent rail flange, and the outer surface of such body ispreferably, but not necessarily, inclined as shown at 10, or providedwith a reentrant portion, to permit a bending of the finger 6therearound, as indicated in Fig. 1. The inner end of the surface 10terminates at or adjacent to the inner side of the tie abutting flange9, and the inner edge portion of such flange is preferably tapered, asat 11, to cause the end of the finger 6, when bent inward in contactwith saidtapered surface, to effect a forcing of the jaw end 5 of thebar and the member 7 apart. The original position of the finger 6 beforebeing bent inward is indicated by the dotted lines of such finger inFig. 1, and the bent or member engaging position of the finger is shownin full lines in said figure.

' In applying my improved stay to a rail the bar 3 is first engaged witha rail by inserting it under the same with its jaws in register with therespective edges of the rail base, the bar being then turned in theplane of the rail to place the jaws in staggered rail gripping relation,with the jaw 5, from which the finger 6 projects, more remotely disposedwith respect to the adjacent tie 1. The member 7 is now placed inengagement with the rail and with its flange 9 in abutment with the tie,after which the bar 3 is moved longitudinally of the rail toward the tieto place the finger 6 at the outer side of the member 7 and in abutment,if possible, with the tapered surface 11 of the flange 9. Or, ifdesired, the member 7 may be applied to the rail before the bar 3 isplaced in engagement therewith.

The parts having been assembled on. a rail as above described the end ofthe bar 3, which is closest to the tie, is struck with a hammer or othertool to drive it toward the tie and more firmly engage the bar with therail base, and the finger 6 is then bent inward to place the lug 6 inengagement with the surface 10 of the tie abutting member 7 and with itsend in wedging contact with the tapered surface 11, thereby effecting afurther tightening of the bar in engagement with the rail. Should therail creep backward with respect to the tie, as is sometimes the case,the bar 3 and member 7 will move backward therewith retaining theiroriginal set position with respect to each other. Should, however, themember 7 become anchored in the ballast when such backward creepingoccurs, the bar 3 and finger 6 will be permitted to have limited slidingmovements with respect to said member without permitting a disengagingof either the bar or member from the rail, due to the part of thesurface 10 with which the lug 6 coacts being made parallel with the railfor a short distance, as shown at 10. Such relative movement of the stayparts often occurs by reason of the ballast freezing and then thawing,considerable diificulty having been experienced, in the use of railstays having separable parts, to retain such parts in assembled relationto the rail when such relative movement occurs.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7, thecross-bar and finger which project from one end thereof are'substantially the same as in the form above described except that thefinger is not bendable in its character but constitutes a part whichprojects rigidly from the bar end and remains practically fixed withrespect thereto. The tie abutting member diflers somewhat from the tieabutting mem berof the form above described as it is provided with abendable part which is adapted to be bent into wedging or outwardforcing contact with the finger of the cross-bar to retain said bar infirm gripping engagement with the rail. In this modified form of theinvention, 15 designates the cross-bar having the rail base engaging orgripping jaws 16 and 17 at opposite ends thereof and suitably spaced tocause them to stand in staggered relation when in clamping engagementwith a rail base. Rigidly projecting from the jaw 17 is a finger 18, thefree end of which is preferably provided with an inwardly projectingspur 19. The tie abutting member is designated 20 and is provided withthe tie abutting part 21 and provided on the outer side of its bodyportion in opposition to the engaged rail edge with a bendable tongue orflange part 22, which is disposed between the finger 18 and the bodyportion of the member 20 when the parts are in assembled position on arail. The tongue 22 is inclined or bent preferably upward with respectto the rail base when first applied thereto, and a bending of thistongue down into outward forcing engagement with the registering finger18 of the cross-bar effects a tightening of the bar on the engaged rail.It is preferable but not necessary to transversely incline or taper theinner surface of the finger 18, as shown in Fig. 5, to facilitate thetightening of the cross-bar on the rail when the tongue 22 is bent intooutward forcing engagement with the finger. The end of the tongue 22which is adjacent to the tie abutting part 21 of the member 20 is spacedfrom said part to provide a space into which the spur 19 of the finger18 may project. This space is preferably of greater width than the widthof the spur 19 to permit the finger and tie abutting member to havelimited relative sliding movements.

While I have herein shown and described two specific embodiments of myinvention for illustrative purposes, and have disclosed and discussed indetail the construction and arrangement incident'to two specific applications thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the mere detail or relative arrangement of the parts, butthat deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments ofthe'invention may be made without departing from the spirit of theclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,

1. In a device of the class described, a bar having parts for engagingopposite edges of a rail base and having a finger projecting from oneend thereof in spaced relation to an engaged rail base, and a tieabutting member for mounting on a rail base edge between said finger andthe rail and being retained in engagement with the rail by said finger.

2. In a device of the class described, a bar for extending under andhaving jaws for engagement with opposite side edges of a rail base, atie abutting member mounted on a rail edge intermediate said bar and anabutting tie, and a finger projecting from said bar in spaced relationto the engaged rail edge and engaging the outer side of said member toserve to hold it to the rail and to cotiperate therewith to retain thebar in engagement withthe rail.

3. In a device of the class described, a bar for extending under andhaving jaws at opposite ends thereof for engagement with the oppositeedges of a rail base when the bar is twisted in the plane of the rail toplace the jaws in staggered relation, a tie abutting member separatefrom said bar for mounting on a rail base edge between a supporting tiefor the rail and the end of the bar which is more remote from the tie,and a bendable finger projecting fro-m the said more remote end of thebar in spaced relation to an engaged rail base and without a portion ofsaid member and adapted to be bent into holding engagement with saidmember.

fl. In a device of the class described, a bar for extending under andhaving jaws for gripping the opposite edges of a rail base in staggeredrelation and having a finger projecting therefrom lengthwise of therail, and a tie abutting member for engaging the edge of a rail base atthe inner side of said finger, said finger being bendable into closeengagement with the outer side of said member and said member having atapered surface with which the outer end of the finger coacts when bentinward to effect a relative outward forcing of the member and adjacentbar end.

5. In a device of the class described, a bar for extending under andhaving spaced jaws for gripping the opposite edges of a rail base instaggered relation, one jaw having a bendable finger projectingtherefrom substantially lengthwise of the rail, a tie abutting memberseparate from said bar and having a rail edge receiving groove and anouter surface which is provided with a reentrant portion adjacent to itsinner end, said outer surface being disposed within said finger when theparts are applied to a rail and adapted to have the finger bent intofolding engagement therewith.

6. In a device of the class described, a bar having parts for engagingopposite edges of a rail base and having a finger projecting from oneend thereof in spaced relation to an engaged rail base, and a tieabutting member for mounting on a rail base edge between said finger andthe rail and being retained in engagement with the rail by said finger,said finger and member having parts which coact to permit limitedrelative movements thereof lengthwise of an engaged rail.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to thisspecification.

JOSEPH M. VAIL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

